Our Co-op on the Coast

Arena Market and Cafe / Coastal Organics Cooperative
April 2013

A Message from Your General Manager

Linda Kneifel

Decisions, decisions, decisions … what’s a shopper to do? Let alone a small, community minded, member owned co-op. Choosing products to put on our shelves has always been tricky but now, with the wealth of information out there; it is becoming a fine, slippery slope.

I have customers/members who would like to see us take all GMO food products off of our shelves. That would leave only the ones certified with the NON-GMO project certified stamp. Two of our best selling products, "Have a Chips" and "California Premium Cheese" do not have NON-GMO labels. And the "California Premium Cheese" is our best priced cheese per pound, so we continue to stock it.

Ingredients I once thought were “clean” are now under scrutiny. Carageenan is derived from a seaweed and I have learned the processing of it is yucky. And now it is a ubiquitous ingredient in many non dairy products.

Larabars came into my radar for being one of the companies that is owned by a larger corporation who fought against the California GMO labeling legislature. While listening to a local program on KZYX last week, I heard a listener who called Larabar to complain and they assured her that their monies stayed within their company. Larabars did not pay to influence people against GMO labeling, but General Mills did. Not only are we to read the ingredients but now we need to find out who owns who and what!

Recently I was told the carbon foot print for a bunch of Kale was greater than that of a tin of sardines. Sigh. And here I thought that being a vegetarian for over twenty years would assist the planet.

Our mission statement specifies that we will not be an instrument for the food industry.

We are member owned and supported by many of us in this small community who have differing views about food and how they feed their families and themselves. I will strive to hear everyone’s side of this important issue. I will continue to find different products that fulfill an organic, non GMO need.

A member recently turned me on to the Cabo Chip, a company that offers an organic, non-GMO type of chip very similar to the Have-a-Chip. They really are delicious and are now on our shelves!

Our produce will continue to be 99% organically grown – with local options offered when available. We had hoped to have Oz Farm offerings late in March, but they have been surprised with frost.

Please utilize our suggestion box, our email, our web page or face book – and even the old fashioned way – face to face with one of our employees or myself. Let me know what you want to buy and soon it may be on the shelf!

I understand the complexities of these issues and yet, I need to find a way to satisfy a lot of different viewpoints in order to keep our small, community minded, member owned co-op in business and the doors open!

Ciao!
Linda

Price Comparison Shopping

Deb Heatherstone

Item

Co-op

Surf

Harvest

Produce

Organic red potato

1.29

1.49

0.99

Organic bananas

1.29

1.79

1.49

Organic Avocados

2.09

1.89

1.39

Organic broccoli

1.26

3.59

2.79

Organic Carrots

1.19

2.99

1.59

Oranges

1.79

3.49

1.29

Lemons

1.38

0.79

1.99

Tangerines

1.29

2.99

1.59

Bulk

Organic Lundberg Rice Grain

1.99

2.29

2.19

Meat

Organic Mary's Bone-in Breast

6.79

5.39

4.69

Whole Rocky Chicken

3.59

2.69

2.49

Dairy

Organic Clover Half 'n Half

3.69

4.19

3.89

Organic Clover Vit D Gallon

7.49

7.65

6.99

Non-Organic Clover Vit D Gallon

6.29

5.09

5.19

Organic Clover 2% Gallon

7.49

7.65

6.99

Non-Organic Clover 2% Gallon

6.29

4.99

4.99

Organic Strauss Yogurt, Plain

4.99

5.49

5.59

Non-Organic Clover Butter, Salted

3.99

4.19

3.99

Organic Clover Butter, Salted

7.29

6.59

5.99

Organic Eggs, Brown, AA

4.99

6.05

4.99

Non-Organic Eggs, Large, AA

2.79

3.39

3.99

Organic Clover Pepperjack 8 oz.

5.25

5.85

5.69

Non-Organic Clover Pepperjack, 12 oz.

4.09

4.49

4.79

Staples

Alvarado Bread, WW, Sprouted

4.89

4.89

4.49

Organic Salad Bar

7.49

Non-Organic Salad Bar

7.99

7.99

Shopping Basket Total

100.97

107.89

98.05

New Products

AquaGardens Living Salad is now on our produce shelves, from a new vendor out of Potter Valley. We offer a sweet or spicy (with Mizuna) blend. It is a gourmet salad bouquet that still has its root ball intact and should last for a few weeks in your fridge. Jed, along with his brother, wife and long time friend raise fish to feed the lettuce – in a sustainable manner. The greens are aquaponically grown without any herbicides or pesticides. Check them out on line. The pictures are incredible!http://www.aquagardensfarm.com/

We have two new flavors of Kevita Sparkling Pro-biotic drinks: Mojita: lime, mint and coconut, and Daily Cleanse – lemon and cayenne. They are very tasty and such a healthy alternative to just about anything else out there with only 10 calories per bottle. Recommended by a member and now on the shelf!

Another new item in the store is the Canyon Bakehouse gluten free hamburger buns, also recommended by a member. We stock their sliced bread and it appears to be a bit more popular than the Udi’s line of gluten free bread; however, the millet-chia is still a great seller.

A Green Bag Lady giveaway will take place at Arena Market and Café on April 28

The Green Bag Lady art project began in January of 2008. Artist Teresa VanHatten Granath and her team of volunteer "Bagettes" make fabric shopping bags from recycled, donated or unwanted material and give them to people for FREE in exchange for a promise to use them instead of paper or plastic.

Each bag includes a label with the project information as well as a bag #. bag name/location/number are recorded on the Green Bag Lady site. To date, over 23,000 bags have been given away in all 50 states and over 100 countries. are also over 40 groups/individuals around the world making the bags from the pattern and giving them away for free too.

No money is made from this project. All the fabric is donated, unwanted or upcycled. fabric that is too thick to be a bag is made into pet beds. The beds are stuffed with scraps and thread clippings making the project waste free.

Join us at 11:30 on the 28th for this great event.

Sauvignon Blanc from Kermit Lynch
Domaine du Salvard Cheverny

Cheverny, in France’s Loire Valley, became an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) only recently (1993) and its Sauvignon Blancs are less well known than those of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. But Kermit Lynch began importing them way back in 1978 because he believed they were as good as, and sometimes better than, the Sauvignon Blancs from other Loire Valley AOCs. Domaine du Salvard has been worked since 1898 by five generations of the Delaille family. The Delailles use sustainable farming practices in all of their vineyards.

Sauvignon Blancs from the Loire Valley are generally simple, crisp and dry, without oak, and sometimes exhibit slightly mineral or “wet stone” (I know, I know) flavors. Sam Imel of Kermit Lynch notes that the Domaine du Salvard Cheverny has “a bit more fruity roundness to make it more versatile with a broader variety of dishes” and recommends it as an aperitif and with chicken dishes and salads.

The Co-Op donated a case of water and $10 to the Charter School Read-A-Thon that was held on March 23.

Our new ‘old’ sign has been rehung at the Co-Op. It’s a very welcoming sign and sets the tone for your Co-Op experience. Stop by and check it out!/p>

We now have Exede Internet service installed for our customers’ use. Check your email or browse the ‘Net while enjoying coffee or lunch.

Cactus is Back

Cactus salad is back in our deli and wow, is it delicious and healthy. It's perfect added to scrambled eggs. We are also selling cactus leaves or Nopalitos in the produce department. By asking the customers who buy it, how they cook it, I have discovered that it is great on the grill!

We welcome you to share any recipe ideas you have for our newsletter and any great ideas with what you do with leftovers. I am always so curious!

Happy Spring!

I hope everyone is having a good time in their garden - I just planted a bare root pie cherry and a Santa Rosa plum tree!

Please take a good look at our price comparison, compiled by Deb Heatherstone, between Surf Market, Harvest Market in Fort Bragg and our Co-op, Arena Market & Cafe. Once again we have proven to be cost competitive with the other grocery stores. We chose not to compare our prices with S&B Market because they do not sell (many) organically grown foods!

Did you know that our Salad Bar costs less than Surf's or Harvest's and that ours features organic veggies and house made dressings, rather than conventionally grown produce? It's true!

Help us dispel the myth that we are an expensive store to shop in. Tell your friends and neighbors about the Co-op's wonderful, healthy, real food. Keep your dollars local and support this community, our employees and local farmers. If more people bought their meats from us, our prices would lower simply because we would be ordering more. Because we are a small grocery store our lower volume often dictates a higher price. The more we sell, the more we order and voila! better prices for you!

Let us know how we can serve you better with products and service. We are here to help our community and we need your valuable input. Keep shopping with us and spread the news about the great prices at our Co-op.

Phil Clark
Board President

Employee News

Two of our staff, Annette Wilson and Alethea Davies, were recently awarded scholarships from Soroptimist International. Founded in 1921, Soroptimist International is a world-wide volunteer service organization for business and professional women. They work to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. CONGRATULATIONSAnnette and Alethea!

We also have two new faces in the store to meet and greet you. Callie Babtkis is working as a barista, and Renee Hanson is being trained to a little bit of everything. Introduce yourself the next time you stop in.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for sale at the Market

Q: Please take the iceberg out of the salad bar.It's not 1955 anymore.

A: Ok, done.We were using the iceberg simply as a way to get a reliable lettuce during the winter and now that spring is back, look for spring mix in the salad bar.Thanks.